Gapa Island, May 10, 2023

Black (Japanese) Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone atrocaudata

Black (Japanese) Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone atrocaudata

Baikal Bush Warbler Locustella davidi

Baikal Bush Warbler Locustella davidi

Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
with Chestnut Bunting Emberiza rutila

male Chestnut Bunting Emberiza rutila

female Chestnut Bunting Emberiza rutila

Yellow-browed Bunting Emberiza chrysophrys

Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata

Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata

Tristram’s Bunting Emberiza tristrami

Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni

Dusky Warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus

Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus

Asian Comma Polygonia c-aureum

Looking towards Mara Island at dawn

Halla Mountain looms at dawn

Baikal Bush Warbler spot

find the Black Paradise Flycatcher holding court

Smog gets in your eyes

  The day started fairly slowly, with not much turnover on a dawn circuit of the island. As I was headed back to my minbak (guest house) at about 8:30am for a coffee (and to scour the smog off my face), I took a detour to some wooded cliffs on the southwest coast, in the shadow of windmills whose blades have turned their last. I’d checked the spot twice already that morning, and the sun was already lashing down with malice, but I decided to check it one more time, as it was relatively close to my minbak. And maybe I heard something in the wind, whispering my name, ha ha.

  Halfway down the row of low pines and scrub, I heard an insect-like buzzing. It was a sound I’d heard before. But not in person – on Xeno-canto. In preparation for this trip, I had time to kill, so did a bit of research on what sort of birds could stray to Korea on migration. So I had a decent idea on what was buzzing in the bushes. I flopped into the grass and staked the spot out. Within 10 minutes, I caught a brief bino glimpse of an uber-skulky LBJ. I saw a white eyebrow, and, holy crap, the hint of a black necklace. This confirmed my suspicions – Baikal Bush Warbler! I was not going to leave until I documented the record. I got a sound recording easily enough (Click here to listen), but it took almost 45 minutes before the bird poked its head out from the deep gloom, into a sun-dappled area of the bush that was slightly less gloomy. I aimed my camera at the gap and leaned on the shutter button, and just sprayed and prayed. The bird vanished after less than ten seconds. Thanks be to Odin, my dumb, heavy camera managed to catch a couple of record shots.

 

  The Baikal Bush Warbler breeds in North Korea, and is a rare migrant to offshore South Korea, but is possibly overlooked. There aren’t many national records, perhaps less than 20. This one seems a bit early – May 19 is the earliest previous record I could find. It’s also notable for how far south this bird was. This was apparently the 2nd Jeju record, and all the previous sightings I’ve seen have come in the far northwest of South Korea, on Baengnyong and Socheong Islands. Anyway, I’ve never been happier about such crappy pictures, heh heh.

  Otherwise, there was a solid variety of buntings (Tristram’s, Yellow-browed, Chestnut, Yellow, Chestnut-eared, Little, and Black-faced) and flycatchers (Yellow-rumped, Narcissus, Mugimaki, Taiga, Asian Brown, and Black Paradise) on Gapa. Between 6am and 6pm (with two breaks), 46 species were logged. Black-naped Oriole (my Korean spark bird!), possible Pin-tailed Snipe, and more singing Styan's Grasshopper Warblers were also of note.

  The two Black Paradise Flycatchers were spotted on opposite sides – one on the north-side rallying spot, one in the south. The one in the north looked like it was holding court in a grown-over yard. It was perched in the centre, on a throne-like branch in the centre of a leafy amphitheatre. A motley court of 6-7 different species was perched around the P-fly, seemingly gathered in silent reverence. OK, enough anthropomorphizing for now. This particular overgrown housing lot has held a load of rallying migrants, but none as cool as a P-fly. But the following day I would get a far better bird there. Stay tuned.